‘Alleluia Yes’ to Roof Repairs on Prairie Street Home in St. Charles

The St. Charles City Council awarded a bid on the project Monday night in hopes of ending decades-long dispute with owner.

A St. Charles man’s 38-year home improvement project is going to get an unwelcome push from the city to finish, thanks to a May court ruling and the City Council’s action Monday, June 17, 2013, awarding a $27,300 bid to replace the home’s roof.

With the court order in hand, the St. Charles City Council voted unanimously — including an emphatic “alleluia yes” — Monday night to award the bid to Absolute Construction and Roofing to replace the roof of the home of Clifford McIlvaine, 605 Prairie St.

Bob Vann, the city’s Building and Code Enforcement Division manager, told the City Council that the court’s ruling on May 3, 2013 found McIlvaine’s home in violation of city code, . His memo to the council said the court instructed the city to complete a list of specific items to bring the home into compliance and to complete the project.

Vann made his remarks while asking the council waive the city’s bid procedure and award the contract to Absolute Construction and Roofing to install asphalt shingles on the home. He told the council the city intended to drop off sample shingles to McIlvaine on Tuesday, and that the contractor can begin construction within a week of the selection.

The work should take a week to complete.

The motion to award the bid was followed by a litany of “yes” votes until the clerk called out for 4th Ward Alderwoman Jo Krieger’s vote, to which she responded, “Alleluia, yes!”

The 10-0 council vote was the first such vote since Mayor Raymond Rogina was sworn in early last month, leaving his 3rd Ward seat vacant. Prior to the vote on Monday night, Todd A. Bancroft was sworn in to fill the remaining two years of the term for Rogina’s former aldermanic seat.

McIlvaine’s home has been the center of a longstanding dispute between McIlvaine, who began remodeling his home in 1975, and the city, which wants him to finish and to resolve safety hazards it maintains exist at the home.

The city sued in 2010, according to the Kane County Chronicle’s May 4, 2013 story on the court ruling. That lawsuit led to a work schedule that was agreed to by both parties, but the city said McIlvaine failed to meet several deadlines to complete the work.

City officials told the Chronicle they intend to finish the roof, remove debris and construction materials in the property’s lawn, and other items to correct issues ranging from exposed electrical wiring to window and door flashing and brickwork, to installing a guardrail for a stairwell to adding a stairwell for a second exit from the home, according to the Chronicle.

• Related: More information on the May court ruling can be found in the Chronicle’s May 4, 2013 story.

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